I did not wake up one morning and decide I want to be a drug addict and an alcoholic, and I didn’t go to sleep on night hoping I’d wake up with bi-polar. But life can be unkind.
T was a bad boy, but with his blue eyes and blonde hair, he was the most beautiful human being I had ever seen. Our lives consisted of sex, fighting, and getting messed up.
We used and abused till finally we got caught. And caught again.
Being in lock up was a horrible experience. Someone screaming an inch away, spit flying onto your lips; steel doors slamming behind you; an audience every time you use the bathroom.
Even after T and I split, I was in and out of custody. It wasn’t till I was really working at sobriety that I met JD.
JD could see that I had issues. He told me that I was still unhealthy and needed to work on myself first. I relapsed again before I was able to right my world.
I’m two years sober and the last year has been the best of my life. I joined a choir, mentored others in recovery, and I’ve built a relationship with God.
I’m a student now and my goal is to dig deeper into fixing our juvenile justice system, with a special focus on the treatment of girls.
You know, every person has a story and reason for them being exactly where they are. We all have gifts and strengths and things to offer to our community, even those girls, even me. Right now, we don’t care about those whom we don’t know. I’m going to help change that.